By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
“It’s been pretty much a roller coaster the whole time we’ve been on (Medicaid). You never know from one renewal to the next what’s going to happen.” — Tommie Siebert
This week was as busy as a legislative session, so here’s your chance to see what you missed.
We ran a series on Medicaid denials that shows why Hoosiers are losing coverage and its impact.
Gov. Mike Braun fired a utility regulator and announced a “new” gas tax suspension.
Plus, referendums, Indiana Senate leadership and state fair news.
I also enjoyed a look at why more Hoosiers aren’t going solar in this week’s commentary.
Taylor Holliday-Smith, of Huntington, spent weeks working to restore Medicaid coverage for her 5-year-old son Thomas, right, after his benefits were terminated during a recent eligibility check. (Photo by Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
‘Powerless’: Indiana families describe the toll of losing Medicaid access
By Casey Smith
The notice arrived after Taylor Holliday-Smith thought she’d already done everything the state asked.
The letter from earlier this summer said her 5-year-old son, Thomas, would lose Medicaid coverage unless the state received updated income verification. Holliday-Smith drove to her local Family and Social Services Administration office in Huntington, updated the family’s address and turned in the documents she was told were needed. She left believing the problem had been resolved.
Days later, however, Thomas’ nursing agency called with different news. His Medicaid coverage had been terminated.
Andy Zay, then the chair of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, leads a daylong utility affordability hearing on March 24, 2026, at the IURC’s downtown Indianapolis headquarters. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Zay fired from utility regulator panel weeks after AES hike demotion
By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
Gov. Mike Braun fired Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissioner Andy Zay from his post on Monday — just six weeks after Zay voted in favor of an AES Indiana rate hike and was demoted from IURC chair.
The State Personnel Department said Zay was dismissed for “multiple potential violations of state policy; including failing to file a required financial disclosure after his removal as Chair, improperly awarding payments and personal gifts to employees, and directing staff to alter a public meeting agenda without consulting the new Chair.”
COMMENTARY
Workers install solar power modules for producing electricity on the roof of a house. (Alexandra Beier/Getty Images)
The problem with going solar
By Gabriel Bosslet
Over the past year, I have been noodling over the possibility of installing solar panels on my roof. This simple curiosity eventually turned into action — I got several quotes for what solar installation might cost.
It was at that point that I discovered a 2017 Indiana state law that makes installing solar financially difficult for individual homeowners but quite profitable for electric companies.
NATIONAL NEWS
A few states have enacted laws to limit surveillance pricing, which uses a customer’s personal data to set prices. (Photo by Robbie Sequeira/Stateline)
States begin banning ‘surveillance pricing’ that uses personal data to charge more
By Robbie Sequeira
Three states this year became the first ones to enact laws restricting companies from using personal data such as browsing history or shopping habits to set individualized prices on goods and services, a practice known as surveillance pricing.
The laws in Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey take different approaches to which retailers and products they cover, the discount exceptions they allow and how violations are enforced.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
38 Indiana school districts to seek property tax referendums this fall | Mackenzi Klemann
Garten announces Indiana Senate leadership bid | Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
Butter, baseball and a brand-new train: Indiana State Fair returns Friday | Casey Smith and Mackenzi Klemann
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